LUMI AI Factory Hub opens in the Kumpula Campus in Helsinki
One of the main aims of the Kumpula LUMI AI Factory Hub is to provide services of AI Research Software Engineers, who help both researchers and students with their artificial intelligence-related challenges, including AI method and AI optimisation consultation. The hub mainly focuses on the areas of Health and AI for Science.
– The LUMI AI Factory project Kumpula Hub provides researchers and students with professional AI expert support for their projects, enabling novel AI-based projects to be pursued with the help of cutting-edge AI and high-performance computing support, comments Professor Keijo Heljanko, who is leading the Kumpula LUMI AI Factory Hub activities at the Department of Computer Science at the University of Helsinki.
The Kumpula Hub obtained premises in December 2025 in the campus’s Exactum building consisting of two larger shared offices that house the Research Software Engineers and offer a co-working space also for visitors to the Kumpula Hub. In addition, large auditoriums and group workingspaces on the campus can be utilised by the Kumpula Hub.
The Kumpula Hub hosts campus activities for students, including training and hackathons in AI topics. The first LUMI AI Factory Open Data Hackathon was hosted on the Kumpula campus in January 2026, and several other events are planned for the future, and will be announced on LUMI AI Factory’s communication channels.
About LUMI AI Factory
LUMI AI Factory is one of the EU’s first AI Factories, combining everything needed for AI development: world-class computing power, high-quality data, and top-tier expertise. Services are free of charge for startups, SMEs, and academic researchers. The LUMI AI Factory accelerates AI innovation across Europe.
– We are delighted to see the Kumpula community embrace the LUMI AI Factory Hub concept and open their hub so soon after Otaniemi. The expansion of the hub network enables stronger collaboration and shared expertise across locations. Next, the network will grow to Ostrava, Czechia, where activities are already beginning ahead of the official launch in spring 2026. By sharing content and knowledge virtually, each hub can offer even greater value to visitors and users across the entire LUMI AI Factory ecosystem, says Eeva Harjula, Project Manager for the LUMI AI Factory hubs at CSC.
The LUMI AI Factory is hosted by a consortium including Finland, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Norway, and Poland. It is coordinated by CSC – IT Center for Science, and the other Finnish partners include Aalto University, AI Finland, and the University of Helsinki. In addition, Belgium, Iceland, Latvia and Switzerland are connected to the LUMI AI Factory as AI Factory Antennas.
Read more about the LUMI AI Factory Hubs.
This news item was originally published on the University of Helsinki website on 19.2.2026
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